Training for Prosperity: Transforming Workers and Communities from Poverty to Self-Reliance
Ethiopian farmers at market. Photo: Erik Hathaway/Unsplash
By Aneesh Chatterjee
Building a system of sustainable economic prosperity and employment opportunities afforded to all, the core of Sustainable Development Goal 8, is a process designed to impact other sectors of development in tandem – such as the alleviation of poverty, the promise of Goal 1. With global unemployment projected to reach 208 million in 2023, alongside accelerating costs of living, solutions that empower workers with skills and opportunities can not only address the goal of sustainable economic growth, but actively raise underprivileged groups out of poverty.
2021 insights revealed by Our World in Data’s SDG Tracker show that on a global scale, despite recorded annual growth rates in GDP per capita across many nations, the annual changes in real GDP per employed individual – a measure of how well a country’s resources are being utilized by their labor force to maximize productivity – shows mixed results, with more instances of reduction in some countries. The Tracker also reveals rising unemployment rates, even in countries that reported substantial growth in their GDP. The effective utilization of the world’s workforce remains one of the greatest roadblocks – and opportunities – for enterprises seeking to manifest the tenets of SDG 8 and opens pathways to escape poverty.
GlobalWA members display steadfast innovation and care in their strategies to build systems of economic success, starting with people themselves.
Training the Future: Skills Development Vital for Goal 8
Members have built high-impact enterprises to deliver solutions across a myriad of sectors and focus areas. A common priority is providing people around the world with the high-demand skills and entrepreneurial flexibility that economic prosperity demands. Across sectors, our members have prioritized the inculcation of valuable skills, and the pursuit of connecting people with resources, as powerful forces of change in economically underprivileged communities.
Microsoft, supporting over 250 nonprofit organizations worldwide, addresses the goals of SDG 8 through high-value skills training, STEM platforms for developing solutions to crises, investing in digital infrastructure, promoting workers’ rights through social accountability, and joining forces with impactful partners to maximize efforts toward economic resilience.
Microsoft’s Skills for Jobs program aims to teach digital sector skills to nearly 10 million people by 2025, partnered with the African Development Bank to train local labor forces and enable them greater career flexibility. With up to 220,000 youth having benefited from training, the enterprise also offers a Digital Ambassador program with 500 trainees. Beyond Skills for Jobs, Microsoft partners with UNESCO alongside other contributors to facilitate the Global Skills Academy, an enterprise that provides vocational and technical training across 150 countries, in an effort to provide millions of potential graduates with opportunities in education, employment, and financial freedom. The Academy aims to equip large sections of the global workforce with skills fit for a more sustainable, diverse and robust global economy by 2029. Other training initiatives supported by Microsoft, such as the i.c.stars initiative to provide low-income adults with skills and education in tech-oriented career fields, and the gener8tor program, providing digital skills training to low-income people of color across the US, exemplify Microsoft’s dedication to inculcating a resilient and adaptable workforce across nations and sectors. Involved in 40 partnerships to deliver education and training resources, Microsoft works alongside other enterprises to fortify the capacities of governments in enabling access to learning resources for local communities.
While organizations like Microsoft work through motivated partnerships to support a plethora of cross-sector initiatives, other members adopt specialized focuses in select industries to maximize their impact and engage intimately with the communities in their target regions.
Transformative Education: Specialized Approaches
One organization working to develop economic resilience at the individual level is the S M Sehgal Foundation. Focused on developing the agriculture sector, Sehgal’s diverse considerations span across water infrastructure, community engagement, crop technologies and beyond. Through engagement and training in 2,061 villages across India, Sehgal directs communities and individuals, not just away from financial struggle, but toward long-term economic prosperity.
Reaching people in communities isolated from resource access and encouraging greater participation in local infrastructure is one strategy deployed by Sehgal. Their Local Participation and Sustainability Program aims to build the foundations of economic resilience and autonomy in rural communities in India by engaging directly with locals and connecting them with regional agencies and government programs that they may not be aware of, enabling them access to resources otherwise unreachable. With an additional, specialized focus on empowering women in these communities, the program provides a discourse platform for women to bring up and address community issues, learn valuable leadership and communication skills and become more autonomous in their abilities to access resources and government services.
Sehgal’s Agriculture Development Program promotes capacity-building; by training farmers to develop their income streams through diverse entrepreneurship skills, locals are taught to implement more lucrative business models, build resilience through food security measures, and introduced to more effective cultivating techniques for greater yield and subsequent income. Field demonstration sessions are conducted to train farmers first-hand on the benefits of pesticide control, soil testing, seed-sowing, biofuel usage, and other sustainable practices designed to mitigate risk and maximize potential yields.
For Mercy Corps, access to training and resources is equally critical for personal growth and economic stability. The Gaza Sky Geeks program, funded by USAID and established by Mercy Corps, grants a platform for tech sector skills development and education in Palestine, working toward sustainable and prosperous career opportunities for Palestinian youth. Gaza Sky Geeks offers comprehensive coding courses, freelancing opportunities, digital marketing training and a startup incubator program, leading to substantially increased access to economic growth: a cumulative $5 million in earnings reported by program graduates, and a 99% success rate for program-trained job applicants.
Building financial resilience in the Pacific Islands is Rise Beyond the Reef, through their Traditional Contemporary Arts & Crafts Program. By helping women and girls generate income from traditional artisan products, especially those in particularly isolated communities, the program connects skilled workers with reliable markets, teaches leadership and autonomy, and builds financial independence for women facing gender-based marginalization in the realm of income opportunities. Operating across nine islands, the program offers a viable alternative source of income for families dependent on traditional agriculture; with goods ranging from handmade jewelry to canvas prints, home decor, clothing and a myriad of other artisan products, crafters now have access to tourist markets.
The Arts & Crafts Program pays workers at rates between 55-65% of Fiji’s minimum wage, working to ensure that cash transfers are handed over individually, tracked with receipts and remain consistently inclusive of labor costs and raw material expenses. Beyond paying workers, the program invests in every area of the supply chain: training workshops for villagers, production equipment, product development consulting, marketing for artisan goods (including paid social media ad campaigns), reliable tagging and shipping of orders, and subsidized transportation of products to relevant markets. Rise Beyond the Reef exemplifies comprehensive and culture-conscious economic empowerment, building reliable systems for long-term financial prosperity.
The Hunger Project (THP), founded to free struggling regions from poverty and starvation, conducts high-impact interventions to grow the financial capacities of individuals and communities. Operating in 12 countries across Africa, South Asia and South America, projects focused on the poverty crisis prioritize women for skills training and connect them with credit sources, building up their abilities to stimulate local economies. Novel income streams like sewing and cow-fattening are introduced to help diversify cash flow, providing workers with tangible routes to alleviate financial burdens.
In tandem with capacity-building for labor forces, members acknowledge the importance of technology in transforming a workforce. For a more sustainable and dynamic global economy in the near future, training the workforce with adaptive technologies in mind is proven essential by GlobalWA members.
Versatile Technology: Adapting through Barriers
Understanding that economic prosperity demands that solutions be adapted to the capabilities of digitization, financial inclusion is another development priority for Mercy Corps. With over 1.7 billion adults in the world without legitimate bank accounts, Mercy Corps recognizes the value of technology in connecting people to valuable financial resources – particularly when increasing access to banking services has correlated with reductions in dire poverty. A study of financial inclusion tactics in Jordan brought to light the JoMoPay (Jordan Mobile Payments) Mobile Wallet, a method of connecting Jordan’s population – over 60% of which is unbanked – with formal financial services, legitimizing their incomes and increasing resource accessibility. Mobile wallet alternatives have also been deployed in Syria, where they’ve helped to bridge the separation of traditional financial freedom from marginalized groups.
Incorporating training with technological innovation is the Global Mentorship Initiative. Their fully remote mentorship program, accessible worldwide, connects students with industry professionals to foster versatile, transferrable soft skills across multiple sectors, generating a talented and adaptable workforce. With a 76% success rate for students finding employment after graduating the program, a large number of testimonials from past students demonstrate the value of the program, both in the realms of career success and personal development.
In the realm of education, a similar project is Mercy Corps’ MicroMentor. A platform connecting upcoming entrepreneurs with volunteer mentors, MicroMentor facilitates vital access to assistance with business development and helps mentees implement and grow their enterprise effectively – a venture with resounding success, according to their 2022 Impact Report. By partnering with Verizon Small Business Digital Ready and Grab Indonesia, MicroMentor has attracted 95,000 new entrepreneurs and 21,000 mentors in 2022. By partnering with Grab, a mobile app providing versatile services, MicroMentor was able to reach over 9 million users in Indonesia with opportunities to develop their trade and access entrepreneurial possibilities. Their partnership with Verizon also helped them reach over 140,000 prospective and established entrepreneurs in the US. As of 2023, the platform is the recipient of a $1 million grant from Google.org, with full-time developmental support to build MicroMentor’s first proprietary mobile app, enabling unparalleled access to millions of users across the world.
The aforementioned Agriculture Development Program by the S M Sehgal Foundation also develops agricultural practices through technology. With subsidized prices, farmers are provided machines that can reduce manual labor input, increase reliable consistency in yield and performance, and eliminate uncertainties. Farmers are trained on safe machine operation and encouraged to develop their income by renting out machines as well.
Other members have developed resilient and innovative products to fortify communities. The Talking Book, developed by Ampilo, is a robust device built to deliver educational content to remote regions, providing people with vital opportunities for literacy. A cost-free option with hours of audio content in multiple languages, Ampilo’s product breaks barriers to education access for underprivileged groups.
While some members use industry-leading technology solutions for delivering training and education to labor forces, others prioritize developing the regional infrastructure of target communities to be legitimized, well-represented and best-equipped for the future economy.
Philanthropy and Representation: Legitimizing Infrastructure
Infrastructure development is a key priority of the S M Seghal Foundation. Through the empowerment of farmer-producer organizations, Sehgal promotes stronger, more reliable access for farmers to credit, supply chain management, resources and technologies that ensure the most fruitful output. Beyond finances, Sehgal trains farmers on water conservation through multiple practices, ascertaining an approximate reduction in water consumption by up to 85% in some communities – a vital improvement in regions where water scarcity poses a crippling challenge to basic infrastructure.
Adopting a similar strategy, the Rural and Agricultural Finance Program (RAFiP) by The Hunger Project, successfully completed in Ghana in 2017, empowered rural workers with access to micro-financing and built representational legitimacy by organizing farmer groups into cooperatives. The program organized 60 cooperatives, connected 876 people with bank loans and facilitated training on agricultural methods and microfinancing for 14,774 farmers. The infrastructure of community banks were fortified with software upgrades and computers, and 22 credit unions were legitimized through registration with the Credit Union Association of Ghana.
Beyond legitimizing workers through cooperatives, THP also prioritizes the inculcation of independence. Their Epicenter Strategy seeks to empower communities by inculcating sustainable self-reliance, implemented in nine African countries. By prioritizing the empowerment of women, encouraging collective effort and fostering connections with local governments, a community’s transformation toward self-reliance is measured through comprehensive data collection and evaluation of set indicators. Established THP epicenters provide progress reports that demonstrate a community’s efforts to meet specific targets, ensuring data transparency with regular community meetings. Since the establishment of the strategy in 2008, 68 epicenters across Africa have met the criteria for self-reliance and economic independence.
Another organization taking on broad sector development to drive economic growth is the Ventures initiative by Mercy Corps. Aimed to support and scale startups with capacities to benefit up to 3.3 billion disadvantaged people, Ventures has raised nearly $400 million for 43 startup enterprises since 2015, focused on building resilience for at-risk communities across a variety of developmental sectors – including agriculture, climate-smart technology, finance and food security. Bypassing traditional roadblocks to financial support, Ventures adopts decentralized cryptocurrency distribution with partner companies to ensure that recipients receive the funding they need.
A product of Mercy Corps’ Resilient Future Thesis, the Ventures program sees the climate-driven disruption of conventional systems of operation as a nascent opportunity to restructure processes into more sustainable methods, growing cross-sector resilience for a future certain to face the increasing complexities of climate change. By investing in sustainability-focused startup enterprises, Mercy Corps encourages further growth in climate-conscious industrialization, enables financial flexibility for new organizations in underdeveloped regions, and grants individuals the economic freedom to not only grow out of financial struggle, but apply their skills to further the development of their respective communities. Fund II, the next Ventures initiative, aims to invest in 30 startups working to develop resilience against climate change.
Utilizing the same approach is Capria, an investment enterprise working to stimulate entrepreneurship in the Global South. The Capria Ventures Global South Fund II aims to assist 20-25 startups across cities in India, Indonesia, Nigeria, Vietnam, Brazil, Mexico and Kenya, reaching close to their funding target of $100 million. Focusing on a broad range of sectors from climate development to fintech, logistics and healthcare, Capria’s beneficiaries will incorporate artificial intelligence to fortify their operations.
GlobalWA members demonstrate the value of approaching issues at every level of engagement – from multi-sector philanthropic partnerships, to industry-specific skills development and community legitimization. Understanding the requirements for Goal 8, organizations have prioritized the inculcation of in-demand skills, the unhindered access to education and mentorship, opening routes to funding opportunities to encourage entrepreneurship, and encouraging enterprises to adopt sustainable practices in every step of their mission.
In addition to the above organizations, the following GlobalWA members are working on SDG 1 No Poverty and SDG 8 Decent Work through their programs in communities where they work.
No poverty? Big scope, yet our partners have been working on this topic in Goma, eastern DRC, for twenty-plus years. Poverty is related to cultural practices, to land tenure, to education, to government, to a justice system based on rule of law, to peace–or lack of any of it. Goma has been an epicenter of conflict since 1992, off and on.
Our partners have targeted specific groups over the years: women with fistula, teen moms, domestic workers, internally displaced people. They have developed a team and integrated approach that begins with individuals being listened to, recognizing their own trauma, and growing a new community by being in a support group. It takes time to develop trust. Information is introduced gradually: how to prevent disease, sexual and reproductive health, small business practices, literacy, vocational training, saving circles that grow into credit/loan associations.
ACT for Congo accompanies our partners as they define and carry out their own vision for their community in Congo—Goma and Beni, in ways that respect individuals, encourage peace, and develop capacities in people to support themselves and their families. Our collaborations foster health, empower women and cultivate community.
Fundación Future of Fish Chile (FoF Chile) works to elevate convenience and innovation within the responsible seafood movement while “achieving higher levels of economic productivity through diversification” (SDG 8) in Chilean caletas, or small-scale fishing communities. When initiating work in a community, FoF Chile conducts extensive research to better understand the target fishery, with much emphasis placed on identifying and building alliances with local stakeholders in the region’s artisanal fishing sector. Through these partnerships, several tenets of SDG 8 are also advanced such as promoting formalization, a focus on value-added products, and the broader decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation.
In this way, fisherfolk, aquatic food harvesters, and divers from different parts of Chile are encouraged to venture into responsible fishing— generating locally sourced value-added products, creating their own alternative markets, and identifying new and innovative ways to reach clientele. FoF Chile simply facilitates the stakeholders’ ideas and ensures that project specifications are in line with the principles of responsible fishing—that no IUU fishing takes place and that their harvest methods generate the least possible ecological impact. Equally important to FoF Chile’s work is promoting positive social outcomes, such as providing a fair income and advancing formal and transparent seafood trade throughout the value chain, including logistics, marketing, and gastronomic services. FoF Chile also believes that making stories visible to consumers, through storied fish with accessible technologies, our efforts are brought full circle and increase the growing movement of responsible seafood production and consumption throughout Chile.
Give2Asia’s steadfast commitment to poverty reduction is undeniable. Since 2001, they’ve channeled over US$535 million to empower 2,500 local charities in 30+ countries. Give2Asia grants span myriad facets of poverty alleviation, from supporting disadvantaged women in India with entrepreneurship opportunities to enhancing early childhood education in rural China to promoting sustainable natural resource management to livelihood farmers in Cambodia. Moreover, Give2Asia’s DisasterLink program, spanning 20 disaster-prone locations, unites more than 50 pre-positioned community-based organizations to support the most vulnerable populations when disaster strikes and promote disaster preparedness and resiliency.
GMI prepares underserved students and refugees to get their first job after graduation. This is accomplished through a structured, short-term, online mentorship with a business professional enhanced through the power of AI.
GMI has over 9,000 students and mentors registered, and we partner with 45 universities and youth associations in 92 countries. In 2024, GMI will add over 5,000 new students for mentorship. Microsoft has provided more than 700 mentors for the GMI program in the past year.
The mentorship program is designed to make it easy to be a great mentor without a significant time commitment. And it’s built to give students a consistent, high-quality experience.
Students learn how to present themselves to the business world, how to speak with confidence, and they are building a business network through LinkedIn. They learn how to set smart goals for their careers and how to think like a job recruiter.
GMI’s mentorship program introduces AI to graduating students to use in all stages of their job search. This includes preparing their resume/CV, building their LinkedIn profile, communicating with job recruiters, and interview preparation.
Global Partnerships (GP) is an impact-first investment fund manager dedicated to expanding opportunity for people living in poverty. Since GP’s founding in 1994 and the launch of its first fund in 2005, GP and its affiliated funds have invested in sustainable solutions that empower people to earn a living, provide basic necessities for their families, and improve their lives.
The investments aim to deliver clear and compelling impact in four dimensions:
- Broadening opportunity across different facets of poverty including, but not limited to, economic opportunity, education, energy, health, housing, sanitation, and water.
- Deepening inclusion of poorer and underserved people, including women and the rural poor.
- Serving millions through sustainable and scalable solutions that can positively impact the lives of millions of people.
- Improving lives by empowering people to earn a living and meet their basic needs.
GP does this while seeking to preserve capital with a modest financial return for all fund investors.
The SG Foundation has always supported SDG #1 – elimination of poverty. Over time since the establishment of the SG Foundation in 1984 we have come to focus on children and education as the best means of tackling poverty. Education, of course, does not simply entail getting children into school. It means having access to clean water, nutrition, and healthcare. It also connects with SDG #8 – decent work and economic growth. Jobs and income are much needed components to not only get children to school but keep them in school. In Central America (where SG works), many families depend on children to help in the fields or household or otherwise generate income. Staying alive necessarily trumps school. SG Foundation accordingly supports non-profits that help farmers, small businesses, etc., to generate family incomes. We favor working with women who are inclined to be more enthusiastic about educating their children, but our work is not exclusively with women.
We are excited to be a part of the Global WA program where we can connect with like-minded organizations seeking to make our world a better place.
Upaya Social Ventures is building a dignified economy by providing investment and support to early-stage businesses creating sustainable livelihoods for people living in the most extreme poverty. At Upaya, we believe that dignified jobs are a human right, and that dignified work has a catalytic impact on families, communities, and economies. That’s why we invest in early-stage social enterprises that are creating safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding job opportunities for people living in extreme poverty.
Since our founding in 2011, Upaya’s portfolio companies have created over 30,000 dignified jobs across India.
World Vision is committed to ending extreme poverty. One of the markers for positive change is World Vision’s livelihoods model, Transforming Household Resilience in Vulnerable Environments (THRIVE) in Tanzania. THRIVE is designed to equip families to lift themselves out of poverty through building improved and resilient livelihoods that enable significantly better incomes, food security, and child well-being. A recent evaluation conducted by TANGO International on this program showed significant improvements when comparing endline data (2020) to baseline data (2013).
THRIVE household annual incomes skyrocketed to a reported $1,370 a year from $138 a year— 9.93 times higher than at baseline. Families used the money to improve their children’s education, housing improvements, medical care, and investments in their businesses. 40% of families participating in THRIVE were more food secure than control households at endline. The percentage of THRIVE households reporting that they could provide for the basic needs of all children in the household increased from 46.8% at midterm to 60.2% at endline. At endline, 85.7% of THRIVE households reported they could obtain a loan if needed, compared with 13.8% at midterm. THRIVE households who engaged in on-farm natural resource management grew from 24.7% at midterm to 45% at endline.
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation
Now in its ninth year of conflict, Yemen remains the largest humanitarian crisis globally, with 24 million people out of the population of 30.5 million in need of humanitarian assistance. The conflict has left 4 million people, including 2 million children, internally displaced, and at least 500,000 public sector workers have been without salaries for over six years.
The war has exacerbated food prices for a country that imports more than three-quarters of its food needs. YRRF has multiple projects to enable poor and vulnerable families in Yemen to generate income in a sustainable way to improve their food security, self-reliance, and dignity in a time of severe deprivation. In 2022, YRRF distributed 585 sheep, 600 egg-laying hens (with 1 rooster per family), and 140 beehives. Livestock serves as a source of protein, nourishment, and income to families in need.
YRRF is currently supporting 20 girls from 3 governorates who are completing a three-year midwifery diploma. In June, YRRF provided a training course for 1,500 women and girls. This 45-day training course provided instruction in nursing and first aid, handicraft production, sewing, and hairdressing. Additionally, in January 2022, YRRF distributed 35 sewing machines to women in need and conducted sewing training.